Redstone July August 2017

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LOOK FOR REDSTONE REVIEW AT ISSUU.COM / SDCMC VOLUME 18, NUMBER 6

LYONS, COLORADO

RESIDENT / OCCUPANT PRSRT STD ECRWSS US POSTAGE PAID LYONS, CO PERMIT No 2053 $.50

JULY 19 / AUGUST 16, 2017

B •R •I •E •F •S Paul Glasgow is the new town planner LYONS – Paul Glasgow was recently hired as the new Director of Community Relations and Town Planner. Glasgow is from Ohio, worked in Burlington, Vermont and went to graduate school at the University of Colorado in Boulder. He teaches classes in planning at CU Boulder and he lives with his wife and daughter in Boulder. Glasgow has been attending the town board meetings, working with Town Administrator Victoria Simonsen and reporting to the board on issues the board is working on. He even loans pens to journalists if their pens break.

Oskar Blues Gold Rush Bike Rally and Run returns this August LYONS – Oskar Blues Brewery will present the Second Annual Gold Rush Bike Rally and Run in North Boulder Park on Sunday Aug. 27. There are two courses to choose from, a 33-mile or 54-mile course. For more information go to www.bouldergoldrush.com.

Lyons Community Foundation grant applications available now

On August 21 a rare total solar eclipse will cross the entire continental United States from northwest to southeast, capturing the attention of millions of people. During this eclipse it will be possible to view the full circle of the Sun’s fiery corona and solar scientists are excited for this rare opportunity to study the corona. Read more in the story on page 4. The photograph above shows a solar eclipse above Antarctica in 2014.

LYONS – The Lyons Community Foundation (LCF) is pleased to announce our 10th annual Community Support granting season. Applications for Community Support Grants are available online now and are due September 8, 2017. These grants are available only once per year and must be applied for at this time. Electronic submissions are required; granting information and applications are available at www.lyonscf.org. In 2016, Community Support Grants totaled over $40,000 and were awarded to 19 individual projects. None of this work would continue without the dedication, inspiration, hard work, and financial supContinue Briefs on Page 4

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A tax on lodging, the 5-acre rule and other issues were topics for the town board By Susan de Castro McCann Redstone Review Editor LYONS – Recently several members of the Lyons Town Board discovered that they could legally impose a lodging tax on that industry and at the town board meeting in mid-July the trustees discussed doing just that to bring in more revenues to run the town now that the flood money is slowly coming to an end. A tax on lodging would be an excise tax. No decisions were made at the board meeting, but most likely the tax would be on a per-room, per-night basis, not per person. The cost of $5 per room was floated and the idea of capping the cost at $10 per room was discussed but no details were decided. “I would like to see what our neighbors are charging (for a lodging tax) to make a comparison,” said Trustee Juli Waugh. Since this would be a tax, it does require a vote of the people. The trustees discussed putting the issue on the ballot in April, 2018 which is when the trustees come up for re-election. Town Attorney Marcus McAskin told the trustees that he could put a start date for the tax into the ballot question. The start date of July 1, 2018 was suggested, offering businesses time to make arrangements for the additional costs. “I think we shouldn’t rush it,” said Mayor Connie Sullivan. “I hear general support for it. We need to know if this is going to gener-

ate enough revenue to be worth it.” The board and staff plan to work on the language for the lodging tax ballot question. The 5-acre rule posed more problems for the board and had more sticky issues. The board wants to change the 5-acre rule, which states that the owners of property over 5 acres who seek to annex into the Town of Lyons must take that annexation to a vote of the people, unless the property is owned by the town. According to Mayor Connie Sullivan, this rule has stopped several annexations that would have benefited the town. Several of the Trustees were against the 5-acre rule and wanted to do away with it entirely, and others wanted to modify the rule. All of the Trustees say the rule has some type of greater or lesser obstruction to development. “I have been thinking about the 5-acre rule for about six years now,” said Mayor Sullivan. “I think this came about (5-acre rule) because people do not want to lose the small town character, and I can understand that. I would still like to create something where (the rule is modified) but it does not lose its teeth. I think that zoning should be done with the annexation so people know what they are voting on. The people who would be most affected by this can’t even vote.” She went on to say that there are people in Apple Valley for example, who receive the benefits of some town services but don’t pay for it. Trustee Juli Waugh said she would like to

do away with the 5-acre rule entirely. That idea was also expressed by Trustee Michael Karavas who said, “I would like to do away with it altogether. It detours development.” Mayor Sullivan said. “I would rather go through the ordinance process and have the public hearing where we can learn what people really want. I think now that a lot of people like the protection they have with this rule.” Trustee James Kerr seemed to fall into that camp with the mayor. “I think that people want to vote (on annexation issues) and I would like offer up (the idea that people could) vote on big parcels.” He suggested that the entire Eastern Corridor planning area go to a vote for annexation. Then the town could go about dividing up the parcels and working with developers on commercial and housing developments. The board had no objection to putting an advisory question about the 5-acre rule on the ballot to find out how the townspeople feel about changing or doing away with the 5-acre rule. This could lead to an ordinance that would exempt the Eastern Corridor from the 5-acre rule. In other news, the board heard a report from Josh Kravetz, president of Adventure Fit, the company that put on the Outdoor Games in Lyons, and Kim Mitchell, the Lyons director of community programs and relations. They reported on the results of the Outdoor Games this summer. The board seemed pleased to hear that over 4,000 people attended the games this summer. About $40,000 in sponsorships were sold and 78 percent of the people attending the events said that they would Continue Town on Page 15


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